BEING unemployed is an isolating experience but help is at hand thanks to the charity Amber.

The Amber is a charity which helps people enter the world of work and its promotional bus is being launched in Swindon on May 30.

Sue Crawford-Condie, fundraiser at Amber, said: "It is more difficult for disadvantaged people who live in an area of high employment, such as Swindon, to find work.

"We aim to make sure that they don't feel excluded from society."

Amber was established in 1995 to help 18 to 30-year-olds boost their confidence and find jobs.

Up to 40 people, referred by job centres, drug centres, the Probation Service and Social Services, spend around six months living at Tottenham House in Savernake Forest, near Marlborough.

During their stay, residents maintain the site, learn interview techniques and take part in community projects.

Sue said: "Many of the activities are team building.

"They do anything from cooking and cleaning to stone wall building."

She said that it is a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to make a fresh start so they are fit for employ-ment.

"Besides practical training, our programme also helps to develop social skills," she added.

Residents make a small contribution from their social benefit towards the scheme's costs.

But the charity relies mainly on voluntary sources and sponsorship from private businesses, including Thames Water and Vodafone.

The promotional bus will be opened by Sir Christopher Benson, the High Sheriff of Wiltshire before embarking on a tour of Wiltshire.

Sue said: "We start in Swindon but plan to tour urban and rural areas throughout the county."

www.amberfoundation.org